JOLIET, Ill. - First-place University of St. Francis won a hotly-contested third game by a 27-25 score and then won game four handily as the Saints moved to a perfect 6-0 in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play with a win over third-place Illinois Tech Thursday night at the Recreation Center.

The win was USF's fifth in succession and its 12th in the last 13 matches.

Sophomore outside hitter Kristee Conrad (Stagg H.S./Hickory Hills, IL) led the offense with 13 kills and junior middle blocker Lauren Hoffman (Plainfield South H.S./Plainfield, IL) added 10 with just a single hitting error. Freshman outside hitter Jazzmyne Robbins (La Salle-Peru H.S./Peru, IL) also contributed 10 kills to the Saints' attack.

USF (20-8, 6-0) won the opening game by a 25-20 score and Illinois Tech (9-12, 4-2) returned the favor by the same score in game two.

USF then jumped out to a 21-13 lead in game three, only to see Illinois Tech rally to outscore USF 10-2 and tie the game at 23 apiece. The teams let a game point slip away before USF got the winning point and earned a 27-25 decision to take a two games to one lead. The Saints then ran off to a 25-16 win in the fourth game to win the match.

Senior libero Courtney Ambrosch (Joliet Township H.S./Joliet, IL) led the USF defensive effort with 17 digs and added 22 serve receptions with no errors. Hoffman led the squad with 3 blocks.

USF is now a half-game ahead of Olivet Nazarene (5-0) in the CCAC standings and is 6-0 in the league for the first time since starting the 2003 season with a 7-0 conference slate.

The Saints are off this weekend and return to action next Tuesday night when they play host to CCAC rival Trinity Christian at 7 p.m. at the Recreation Center.